Hot Shower
by onedaytoday
Summary: Cassie and Pritkin are just back from a rough mission and have checked into a cheap motel to avoid enemies back at Dante's. They are exhausted and filthy. A hot shower is Cassie's top priority, but that is sooo not going to happen. Slightly smutty fun.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Cassie and Pritkin are characters created by the wonderful Karen Chance.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

At least there was hot water. The shower was more of a gentle drizzle than a downpour, but all those years on the run had taught me to be thankful for what I could get. I rinsed off, letting the warm water soothe my latest round of aches and pains. A clump of something pink and purple and squishy slid off me and down the drain. The image of the dark mage's brains exploding all over me played again in my head. I shuddered. He was about to slit my throat when Pritkin shot him, but still, I don't think I'll ever get used to people dying around me. Even the ones trying to kill me.

A loud knock, more a pounding really, on the door made me drop the thin bar of cheap hotel soap. I said one of Pritkin's bad words as I bent over to retrieve the soap.

"Go away, Pritkin!"

Only my crazy war mage partner would go so far as nagging me while I was in the shower. We were supposed to grab a sandwich and debrief our last mission. He might call it a debriefing, but these little sessions were really more about Pritkin yelling at me about everything I did wrong, and me yelling at Pritkin about how he almost got himself killed. He'd just have to wait. I wasn't going anywhere until I was clean again. Or the hot water ran out.

There was a moment of silence before the vinyl shower curtain was violently shoved back, and a familiar large hand holding a towel appeared.

"Pritkin! What the hell?"

I snatched the thin, used-to-be-white towel from him and hastily wrapped it around myself. I hadn't even heard him open the door, and now, he was standing in my bathroom, bare chested and barefoot. He had his duffel bag slung over one shoulder, a handgun in one hand, and a worried frown on his face. I turned off the water. This couldn't be good.

"What is it?"

"War mages in the parking lot. They have all of the exits covered. You need to shift out of here now."

"I can't. I've got nothing left. Shifting us here was all I could do. I can't move us again so soon."

"Shift by yourself. I'll be fine."

I opened my mouth to let him know that so wasn't happening, when he stopped what I was going to say by covering my mouth with his hand.

"They are right outside," he whispered in my ear. "I'm staying here. I can't look after you and deal with them at the same time. Shift out now."

I was spared the indignity of trying to bite his hand when I heard the outer door to my hotel room explode open.

Not good. I didn't think I had the energy to scream much less shift, but one look at Pritkin's pissed-off and scared faced convinced me that I had to try.

I grabbed his arm just as another explosion blew in the bathroom door. Pritkin slammed into me. I squeezed my eyes shut and did whatever it is I do that shifts us somewhere else. Usually, we're there in a blink. But I was so exhausted, it wasn't that easy this time. I felt my body pulled, stretched, and smeared through the gray fog of that other space until finally the scratchy comforter on Pritkin's old bed back at Dante's was underneath my bare back.

This wasn't good. We were supposed to be avoiding Dante's, and I'd brought us right back to ground zero of the guys who were trying to kill me. At least I hadn't shifted us to the penthouse where I'd been living for the last several weeks.

We were lying in a mottled pool of blue and red and green light that was shining through the recently repaired stained glass window that took up an entire wall of the small room. Confused memories of the last time I'd been in this room lying under Pritkin's hard body flooded my mind.

"Pritkin! Get off me!"

Nothing happened. This really wasn't good.

He was a dead weight on top of me. A very naked me. The damned towel had come loose, and I was acutely aware he wasn't wearing a shirt. The mat of curly golden hair that covered his hard chest was soft against my breasts. He must have been in the middle of getting dressed when the fun had started.

It was becoming difficult to breathe.

At least _his_ breathing was warm and steady against my throat. The part of me that worried about him was relieved that he was still alive. The part of me that hated him was horrified that my body liked the feel of that chiseled chest pressed against mine with nothing between us.

Time to go.

I reached for the edge of the bed and tried to wriggle out from under him. If I was lucky, I could get some clothes on before he regained consciousness.

"Don't move!" His voice growled in my ear.

I froze. Pritkin's brilliant green gaze was staring at me from way too close. I licked my lips, trying to figure out what to say. My brain was no help. It seemed to have taken a break and left my body in charge. A body that was perfectly happy to lie beneath Pritkin and enjoy the warmth of his carved muscles against my smooth curves.

Pritkin's brain seemed to have taken a holiday, too. Normally he had something to say about everything. Now he only stared at my lips. As he leaned closer to me, I realized how badly I wanted to feel his mouth against mine. I had _missed _his hot and hungry kisses. And it terrified me that I could want someone so much. That I needed him. Not just the perfection of his body, but the unguarded twinkle in his eyes when I could almost get him to laugh. My fear turned to panic. Nobody knew better than me what happened when I let down my guard and allowed someone to get too close.

"Get off!" I bucked my hips, desperate to get out from under him before I gave in to my body's demands.

"Don't… move." I saw his eyes darken, and he grabbed handfuls of the bedspread on each side of my head. "Please."

Pritkin saying please? That stopped me.

"I'm injured and it is… difficult… to maintain control with you in your current state."

My current state? It took me a moment to understand what he was talking about. I felt my cheeks flush when I realized he meant my current _naked_ state.

Pritkin as a half-incubus could feed off my life energy to heal. When he was injured, feeding was an an automatic reaction that was difficult for him to control. His eyes were getting darker. There was still a ring of green, but I could tell from his ragged breathing that my lusting after him was really not helping.

"Um, Pritkin? Maybe you should get off me?"

He swallowed. I saw some of the panic I was feeling mirrored on his pale face.

"I can't." The admission cost him. Angry eyes stared into mine. At least there was more green there now. Note to self. Keep the crazy half-incubus angry. "A piece of debris from the explosion has lodged against my spine. I can't move my legs. As long as it's in place, I can't heal. You'll have to remove it."

I nodded. I could do this; I had to.

I reached around him and threaded my fingers through the damp, soft hair at the base of his neck. Pritkin's lips compressed into a thin line. I needed to work fast. My fingers slid down his spine until I hit something rough and wet sticking out of his lower back. There was barely enough poking out of his skin for me to get a grip on it. Could I really do this?

"Miss Palmer! What are you waiting for?"

I sucked in air and pulled. There was a sickening resistance before the wooden shard came free. I tossed it away before turning back to him. "I told you to call me Cassie!"

It was his turn to nod. His eyes were closed, and his already pale face was now paler.

"Pritkin?"

"Gimme a minute." He had to be in bad shape to slur his words.

I craned my neck around to get a better look. Blood was oozing out of him. Even with his amazing ability to heal himself, the bleeding didn't seem to be stopping.

"You're still bleeding. A lot. Why hasn't it stopped already?"

"Healing will take some time." He wasn't meeting my eyes.

Damn it! Pritkin had been using his shields and magic all day. He wouldn't admit it, but he didn't have enough energy left to heal the gaping hole in his back on his own.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: OK, this is where it gets slightly smutty. Be gentle. It's my first time. :-)  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: All of the characters and their world belong to Karen Chance. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

I turned my head towards Pritkin and brushed his lips with mine. He flinched as if I'd burned him.

"No! I won't be able to stop!" I saw terror in his eyes. He jerked up and tried to leverage himself off my body using only his arms. He still couldn't move his legs.

I ignored him and pulled his face back down to mine. This time my kiss wasn't gentle. Fear, anger, yearning — I poured all the pent up feelings I had for him into that kiss. I'd almost lost him so many times in the little while I'd known him, there was no way I was going to lose him now. Not when I had the power to save him. I nibbled his lower lip until my tongue found its way into his mouth. With a groan, he took over the kiss, and I let him devour me. When we broke free for air, his eyes were almost completely black, except for the thinnest sliver of green around the edges.

His body tensed, and he lifted himself on his arms again. "We're not doing this," he finally managed to say through clenched teeth. He frantically looked around the room, anywhere but at me.

I leaned forward and planted small kisses across his chest until I came to one of his nipples. I gave a little lick, then played with the hardened nub with my teeth.

"No!" It was more a moan than a shout. He shot a palm forward and pushed me back against the bed. A tremor shook his body as he fought for control. When he was still, he stared at my face and slowly repeated, "We are… _not_… doing this." It would've been a more impressive statement if his face wasn't so pale. He was losing too much blood. I was running out of time.

"Okay." His mouth opened in surprise at my matter-of-fact agreement with him. "_We_ are not. If you won't help, I'll just have to do it myself."

An incubus feeds by absorbing the life energy his partner projects when, well, when she's in the mood. Pritkin would be able to feel if I was aroused. I was betting that in his weakened state he wouldn't be able to resist taking the energy he needed to heal. I tried not to think about what would happen if he couldn't stop himself from taking too much.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. This was an emergency, not a date. And unlike my usual nightmares filled with plenty of bad guys and monsters, I'd been having dreams about Pritkin lately. Some very _hot _dreams. I'd just pretend I was dreaming right now. Opening my eyes, it was easy to appreciate those muscled shoulders and the iron-hard arms that were tensed with the effort to keep his weight off me.

"I have a confession to make," I whispered as I moved my hand to my throat and then slowly trailed my fingers down my neck. His eyes tracked the movement like a predator watches the path of its prey. "I like it when you touch me."

He actually groaned, and I had to hide a smile.

I played with the tip of my breast, tweaking a nipple until it jutted out in a hard peak. In my dreams, it was Pritkin who touched me like that. I might have said that last bit out loud because when I looked up at him, his eyes were completely black.

I shivered. The first faint stirrings of a power drain rippled along my skin. My plan was working.

"Cassie…" he rasped. "What are you doing?"

I was pretty sure that was obvious, so I didn't bother answering. Instead, I slid my hand down my stomach to the point where our bodies came together. Most of his weight was on my hip. There was just enough room for me to reach down between my thighs and touch myself. His breath hitched. I felt the warmth of his arousal against the back of my hand, and a wave of desire washed over me. The power flow surged from a trickle to a stream.

But I wanted more. I wanted to writhe beneath his naked body; I wanted his mouth where my fingers were. I might have cried that last part out loud, too, because the stream immediately became a torrent. Heat flared from his body, and I shuddered as waves of pleasure raked mine. He was healing, but the power drain was larger than last time and didn't seem to be stopping. My limbs grew heavy, and I realized I couldn't move. Fear quickly replaced passion.

And then an iron grip grabbed my wrist and wrenched my hand away from myself.

"No! Not again!" I looked into horrified eyes. With a cry, he rolled over and let go. Cold air rushed against my body where he'd been touching me. I trembled for a moment before curling up against his side, desperate for his missing warmth.

He stiffened. "Get away from me. You aren't safe."

"It's okay," I tried to reassure him. I wasn't afraid any more. It was Pritkin. He would never hurt me. I raised myself up on an elbow. His face was flushed instead of pale, and he was breathing heavily as he stared at the ceiling. I placed a hand on his chest, but before I could ask him how he was doing I found myself flying off the bed.

"Ow!" I landed on Pritkin's duffel bag instead of the concrete floor. The floor would have been softer.

"You're a damn fool," his rough voice floated down from the bed. A moment later my towel and a pillow landed on top of me.

"Hey! What's your problem?" I tried to stand up, but the room spun around me, and my stomach decided that standing was a very bad idea. I sank back down on the floor and leaned my head against the bed. Maybe I'd just sit here a moment longer. Today's emergency had left me feeling pretty drained.

"You. You are my problem if you don't get dressed."

"I don't have any clothes, remember? We kind of left in a hurry."

There was a sigh from the bed, then a muffled, "In my duffel."

I reached over and slowly unzipped the large canvas bag that was his portable arsenal. It would be so like Pritkin to have booby trapped it.

"It's not rigged."

I rolled my eyes. So now he was reading my mind.

Underneath enough guns and ammo to field a small army, I found a tightly wrapped bundle of clothes that contained a crumpled sweatshirt, a T-shirt, and a pair of sweatpants. I blinked in surprise - they weren't Pritkin-sized and they were _pink!_ Except for his dead wife, I'd never even heard him mention another woman.

I managed to stand up and saw that his eyes were closed. He had a death grip on the bedspread, but he was breathing normally.

I might have yelled at him about something, if he hadn't rolled over right then. His legs were working, and it looked like the bleeding had stopped. My shoulders sagged as the tension left my chest. He really was going to be all right.

I turned back to the mystery pile of clothes. I didn't have other options so I pulled on the sweatpants and cinched the drawstring around my waist. They fit perfectly.

I shook out the T-shirt and laughed for the first time in days when I saw what was printed on it "I was in the right place, but it must have been the wrong time." It was a line from an old Dr. John song, and I loved it.

There was no question he had bought the clothes for me. I put on the shirt and except for a little tightness across the chest, it fit, too.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

I put a knee up on the bed, preparing to crawl in next to him. His head whipped around and I saw him take in my outfit.

"Don't even think about it." I froze at the steel in his voice. There was still a hint of darkness in his eyes as they lingered on my shirt. I didn't think it was taking him that long to read it. He finally threw an arm over his eyes and said, "I'll be ready to go in an hour. Try to get some rest. Over there."

I looked behind me at the small, battered couch that had been added to the room, almost as an afterthought, since the last time we were here. The couch blocked the lower portion of the stained glass window and took up most of the floor space. There were tears and a few cigarette burns, but it was surprisingly comfortable as I curled up on it.

I looked over at the man lying quietly on the bed. He was the most annoying, ill-tempered, ill-mannered, stubborn person I had ever met. But he had his moments of kindness that even now could take me by surprise. And as my eyes grew heavy and I drifted off, I knew I was safe.


End file.
